UNSW inks OpenAI deal to keep its questions private

UNSW Sydney will be the first Asia-Pacific university collaborating with the US-based OpenAI to deploy ChatGPT Edu.

The deal will allow UNSW researchers, educators and students to use OpenAI’s artificial intelligence tools on a secure platform, which means academics can protect their intellectual property and keep their prompt questions private while using the generative AI tool.

UNSW joins the likes of Oxford, Columbia and Arizona State universities, as well as the London Business School and Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania as OpenAI users.

A 12-month targeted pilot is currently underway at UNSW to develop usages for ChatGPT Edu, involving 500 people. The pilot is focusing on enhancing productivity, curriculum development and student and teacher support.

Staff feedback will be gathered every three months to determine the usefulness and impact on productivity, learning and teaching. A controlled pilot with students and their teaching staff is also planned for early 2025.

UNSW’s Chief Information Officer Dr Chrissy Burns said the agreement offers UNSW staff and students more robust, secure, and bespoke technology compared to the standard Free or Plus ChatGPT versions, while any prompts university users write in ChatGPT remain private and the data can’t be used for model training.

“This partnership with OpenAI represents a pivotal moment in our journey to integrate cutting-edge technology into the fabric of UNSW,” she said.

“By leveraging the enterprise-level capabilities of ChatGPT Edu, we can ensure our researchers, educators, and students have access to secure and advanced AI tools tailored to their needs.”

Professor Paul Andon, the senior deputy dean for education and student experience at the UNSW Business School, is enthusiastic about the pilot.

“As Australia’s leading business school, we are thrilled to be driving this educational transformation in partnership with OpenAI,” he said.

“Through this pilot, we are exploring innovative ways to collaborate with AI, to unlock new possibilities to elevate the learning experience at scale for business educators and students.”

UNSW also has agreements with other AI platforms including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Adobe.